February marks Heart Health Awareness month, and USC first lady Patricia Moore-Pastides and Jeannette Andrews, the dean of the College of Nursing, marked it Thursday at the second annual Heart of Carolina event.
Under the tagline, “As Gamecocks, our hearts have no limits,” the event, which sought to raise awareness about heart disease and to educate Gamecocks on the benefits of heart health, encouraged students to visit a variety of wellness stations placed throughout the room.
Students got information and samples from stations run by the College of Nursing, Healthy Carolina, Campus Wellness, Campus Recreation, Arnold School of Public Health, Gamecock Athletics, the McCutchen House, the School of Medicine and WP Rawl Farms. Those who visited all of the stations and received a sticker from each were able to spin a wheel at the last station to win a prize.
“A lot of people think that you can do whatever you want when you’re young. But recently we’ve been discovering that heart disease can start at a young age,” Moore-Pastides said. “Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of men and women in America. But if you eat healthy, don’t smoke and exercise daily, you can greatly reduce your chances of developing it.”
Moore-Pastides also presented her cookbook, “Greek Revival,” which features a number of heart healthy foods.
“Dishes from the Mediterranean diet have been known for a long time to be very healthy for your heart,” Moore-Pastides said.
A few of the dishes were included throughout the room as free samples, and recipes for those and other healthy dishes were provided as handouts.
Moore-Pastides explained that her interest in heart health came from both her professional and personal lives.
“First of all, my career is in public health, so that has made me very focused on heart health promotion,” she said. “But my dad passed away from a major heart attack at only 56, so I also have a personal stake in it.”
The event also promoted the American Heart Association’s 2014 Midlands Heart Walk on March 22. The heart association had a registration station for students interested in participating in the event to raise awareness of heart disease.
The walk, which is 3.3 miles long and non-competitive, is one of the largest community events in Columbia.
Murray Coleman, director of development of the Midlands Heart Walk, praised the efforts of Moore-Pastides and Andrews in coordinating on-campus efforts to promote the event.
“Heart disease and strokes are the leading cause of death in South Carolina,” Coleman said. “It’s important for the university, as a big part of the Midlands, to show major interest and to educate these future leaders about its dangers.”